Transcriptomic insights into nitrogen-regulated cadmium absorption and accumulation in Spirodela polyrhiza: Toward enhanced phytoremediation strategies for cadmium-polluted environments.

Nitrogen enhances cadmium uptake and detoxification in Spirodela polyrhiza by upregulating key transporter and regulatory genes, improving phytoremediation efficiency.

• Why it matters: Understanding how nitrogen influences cadmium absorption at the molecular level addresses a critical gap in optimizing phytoremediation strategies for contaminated aquatic environments.
• What they did: Transcriptome analysis of S. polyrhiza under low and high nitrogen conditions with cadmium stress identified over 19,000 genes, revealing pathways related to oxidative stress, photosynthesis, and metal transport.
• The result: Findings show nitrogen promotes cadmium detoxification and photosynthetic recovery, with key transcription factors like GATA22 coordinating N metabolism and metal tolerance, enabling targeted phytoremediation improvements.